A number of prior art reciprocating slat conveyors are discussed in the "Background Art" section of my co-pending application Ser. No. 09/275,473, filed Mar. 24, 1999 and entitled "Drive Units and Drive Assembly For Reciprocating Slat Conveyors." One of the prior art conveyors is one that is disclosed in my U.S. Pat. No. Re.35,022, granted Aug. 22, 1995, and entitled "Reduced Size Drive/Frame Assembly For A Reciprocating Floor Conveyor." U.S. Pat. No. Re.35,022 relates to a drive assembly composed of "linear hydraulic drive units." The drive units have fixed opposite end portions connected to frame members and a movable center portion connected to one of the transverse drive beams to which the conveyor slats are connected. According to the invention of that patent, the end portions of the drive units are piston components and the movable central portion is a cylinder component. Or, the end portions are cylinder components and the movable central portion is a piston component. This latter arrangement is disclosed in some detail in my U.S. Pat. No. 5,638,943, granted Jun. 17, 1997 and entitled "Drive Assembly For Reciprocating Slat Conveyor." In either style of drive assembly, it is desirable to have the movable portions of the drive units, herein "drive members", detachably connected to the transverse drive beams. This is so the drive units can be disconnected from the drive beams and removed from the installation for servicing. The structure disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. Re.35,022 for detachably connecting the cylinder components to the drive beams comprises a pair of longitudinally spaced apart clamp assemblies, each composed of an upper clamp part that is connected to the drive beam and a removable lower clamp part. Two bolts are provided for connecting each lower clamp part to its upper clamp part. At each connection, one of the upper clamp parts forms an interlock with a structure that has been added to the movable portion of the drive unit. Conveyor assemblies sold by Hallco Manufacturing Co., Inc. of Tillamook, Oreg., under the name Hallco 4000 and Hallco 6000, have a similar connection. The Hallco drive members are piston rods that are connected to the drive beams by longitudinally spaced apart clamp structures composed of upper and lower clamp parts. One of the upper clamp parts interlocks with a structure that has been added onto the drive member.
An object of the present invention is to provide a detachable clamp connection for connecting the drive member to the drive beam in a way that utilizes both upper clamp parts for transmitting the longitudinal drive force from the drive member to the drive beam.